Area briefs

Published 2:21 am, Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Man severely burned after crashing SUV

A 43-year-old Stamford man who suffered severe burns Monday night when he crashed his sport-utility vehicle into a parked van remained in critical condition at Bridgeport Hospital on Wednesday morning.

Javier Rivera, of Southfield Avenue, is being treated at the hospital for burns suffered in the 8 p.m. Monday accident in which police said Rivera's Chevy Blazer hit a parked 1998 GMC van in front of 146 Selleck St. After the crash, the Blazer's wheels caught fire, police said.

Rivera was unresponsive when police arrived. Stamford Police Officer William Mercado pulled him out of the SUV.

Stamford's school system is working with the city health department to prepare for possible swine flu outbreaks once school starts, Superintendent Joshua Starr told the Board of Education Tuesday night.

The precautions will include placing hand sanitizers in classrooms, Starr said, although he noted the virus is airborne.

Schools spokeswoman Sarah Arnold is planning to attend a state-sponsored training session on school illness and outbreaks Wednesday.

The virus, along with regular seasonal flu, has the potential to cause significant illness along with associated hospitalizations and deaths during the coming flu season, according for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Lawmakers to hold hearing on proposal

Stamford lawmakers will hold a final public hearing Monday on a law that would fine food establishments up to $250 per day for not properly dispose of cooking grease.

The law, requiring food establishments to install grease traps and regularly clean them, would apply to all restaurants and cafeterias that prepare hot food. It would not affect private homes or establishments that provide only prepackaged food or cold sandwiches.